Introduction to "Sociology of Markets"

Jens Beckert

Markets as the core institution of capitalist economies are the focus of the project area "Sociology of Markets." The overarching aim is to understand the functioning of markets from a distinctively sociological perspective. Markets are analyzed from a Weberian viewpoint as arenas of social struggle in which actors confront each other under conditions of competition. What are the social, cultural, and political underpinnings for the development of the order of markets? One crucial vantage point of the research projects is the problem of uncertainty market actors face when making decisions. This, in turn, sheds light on the coordination problems market participants must cope with, which can very abstractly be summarized as the problem of value, the problem of competition, and the problem of cooperation. Uncertainty also provides a theoretical opening to explain the embeddedness of economic action. Current empirical projects examine such phenomena as the lottery, financial markets, collective institutional entrepreneurship, industrial relocation, and fashion markets. Special attention is given to comparative and historical research designs.